While it’s good for people themselves to be financially literate—to know how to earn and manage money—society itself needs widespread financial literacy among the people in it. Even though hundreds, if not thousands, of organizations in the U.S. advocate for individual financial literacy training, we don’t necessarily recognize the global benefit of it.

Even the founders of the United States saw the influence of money wasn’t just a personal thing but had a profound effect on society.

John Adams wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson about it in 1787.

“All the perplexities, confusions and distresses in America,” Adams wrote, “arise not from the defects of their constitution or confederation … not from a want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.”

Adams’s statement shows the gravity of the situation in a culture that was on a path of financial demise. He recognized our country needed to head in a different direction and put a focus on ongoing personal education about money.

So when we talk about financial literacy for people, we should also talk about the following ways literacy benefits society as a whole.

1. Financial stability soothes marital stress and decreases divorce rates.

Financial tension hurts marriages. When couples lack financial education, they more easily fall into disagreements about how money is spent. Nor are they happy if they cannot even communicate about financial matters with each other because they lack the vocabulary to do so.

Money disagreements, in fact, are often listed among the top reasons for divorce, along with sexual infidelity and poor communication. Couples often blame each other for poor financial management, and a vicious cycle starts where neither spouse takes responsibility for improving the situation.

In search of solutions to this problem, of course, couples can talk through the money issues, seek out the advice of a professional advisor/counselor or attend finance classes. The financial health of a marriage can be improved if couples can better understand and respect each other’s unique financial values. It might help them to use tools like the National Endowment for Financial Education’s “LifeValues Quiz.”

2. Financial education helps a society because it helps people meet their basic needs.

When people cannot take care of themselves—stay within their budgets, take care of the basic necessities—eventually that becomes a societal problem.

Without proper financial guidance, people often spend money on wants more than needs. They should be prioritizing expenses on food, housing, clothing and transportation, keeping those expenses within the boundaries of their household income.

If they can’t, they might well go to outside agencies, such as welfare services, for help to meet basic needs. Thankfully, nearly every community has safety nets to make sure human needs are being met. But unfortunately, some families can fall between the cracks and suffer dire circumstances.

When families adhere to a healthy budget process balancing their needs and wants with their household income, they will make fewer demands on government agencies and nonprofits.

Many low-income families do a remarkable job of stretching their budget dollars, but then they risk huge strain if they lose their jobs, run into health issues or face mechanical breakdowns. A recent study funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education finds that one in three Americans is financially fragile, meaning unable to cope with emergency expenses in a short time frame. Researchers investigated the causes of financial fragility and found three main problems: when people incur high debt, lack assets or suffer from a lack of financial literacy.

It’s essential for people to build emergency funds. Four in 10 adults cannot cover a $400 emergency event, according to a Federal Reserve report, and 61% of Americans don’t have enough cash saved to cover a $1,000 emergency. Without emergency funds, people sometimes seek help from government agencies or nonprofits to get through their financial hardships.

With proper financial planning, people can survive on their own, thus reducing strain on our outside support systems. Many people may struggle to reach the six-month emergency fund savings benchmark, but starting small and making progress toward that goal is a respectable beginning step.

3. Financial education reduces crime.

When people’s basic financial needs are met, they are less likely to resort to crime to meet those needs. Studies have linked poverty and violent crime, and poverty’s ravages can force some people to turn to theft to support basic needs. Addiction may also cause people to divert money from basic needs.

4. Financially literate people are better equipped to help others.

As their household incomes increase, people are more likely to make charitable contributions. That, in turn, adds to society’s total giving. When people have proper financial education, make better financial decisions and empower themselves financially, they are better able to live out their own charitable values.

A 2013 study by the National Center for Charitable Statistics shows that Americans give 2.4% to 5.9% of their adjusted gross income when their household income is $45,000 or higher. Better money management can lead to a more secure financial base, allowing households to contribute more.

It should be noted that while income is a significant factor in charitable giving, low income individuals give back to society in substantial ways too (by volunteering, giving smaller financial gifts and making in-kind gifts).

5. More personal financial stability can lead to fewer wars and financial planning can even lead to world peace.

Among the main reasons countries wage war are to achieve economic and territorial gains. If more countries were financially secure, the result would be fewer wars and a movement toward peace.

Even the Bible makes the claim that war is a result of wanting what others have: money, resources and territory. “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it,” says James 4:2-3 (from the New Living Translation). “You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

Some scientists believe that as the world’s population increases and basic resources become scarce, wars will be fought more often over fundamental essentials, such as water and food. The Arab world has already seen major uprisings, partly due to soaring food costs that consume large portions of the population’s budget. David Korowicz, a physicist and human systems ecologist writing for the Foundation for the Economics of Stability, writes that “no society wants to test the veracity of the old adage that we are only nine meals from anarchy.”

Dowager Queen Noor of Jordan is known for her peace-building work around the world. She gave a talk about how proper personal financial planning can lead to world peace.

During her reign as queen, Jordan had a high poverty rate and a high level of terrorism recruitment among its people. When people are desperate for food, clothing and shelter, terrorists can swoop in and promise those things to those who join their cause.

Queen Noor worked to secure world funding to help household villages set up microbusinesses and generate the income they needed to meet the basic needs of their families. This plan reduced their poverty rate by over 50%.

The queen’s plan also helped reduce terrorism recruitment. The Global Terrorism Index (or GTI, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace) measures the impact of terrorism, ranked on a scale from zero to 10 (Iraq, for example, has a GTI of 9.96, while the U.S. figure is 4.877). Jordan’s GIT is only 2.858. Queen Noor’s obvious conclusion is that if families are more financially stable, terrorism activity decreases and the outcome is peace.

A Matter of Contentment

People show what their values are by the way they spend money. Their expenditures also show what they believe will bring satisfaction and happiness. Yet studies have also shown that having more money than you need to provide for basic needs does not necessarily lead to more happiness.

The U.S. marketing machine causes consumers to spend too much money. As personal finance author and radio host Dave Ramsey says, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” Financial literacy is necessary to help teach attitudes about money, how to quit comparing your material possessions to those of others, and how to be content with what is already owned. Comparing yourself to others often leads to wanting their material possessions. Wanting what they have leads to improper spending choices and poor prioritization. Money is consumers’ biggest test in life, but it can also be their biggest testimony of what they really value.

Although financial literacy will not solve all the world’s problems, financial education has bigger benefits to society than we could ever imagine. The ability to earn and manage money properly, combined with healthy attitudes and communication about finances, will reduce our societal stress. Striving for comprehensive financial literary over a lifetime is a worthwhile goal that will provide benefits for the good of all.   

David Strege is a senior fee-only planner at Syverson Strege in West Des Moines, Iowa, and is a past chairman of the CFP Board.